


whom stars could burn

by OfInfiniteSpace



Category: Boardwalk Empire
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-23 02:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2531381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfInfiniteSpace/pseuds/OfInfiniteSpace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three brief pieces surrounding Bill Fallon and the woman who stuck with him to the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	whom stars could burn

**Author's Note:**

> the unnamed woman is based primarily on pashchan's muse, Eda--on rp interactions and on thoughts that Pash has shared. in the third drabble, the woman is also inspired by Gertrude Vanderbilt, friend and mistress of historical!Fallon. al-so, the title is from a poem by Geoffrey Hill.

He wishes he could hold her, really hold her. He wishes money were enough to ascertain affections. As it is, he’ll give her all he has in hopes of keeping her just a little longer.

\--------------------------------

if she could give him anything, it would be this: the glittered form of sky’s diamonds, a star wrapped in a gesture wholly human. that he could believe in beauty beyond an instant. that he might perceive a lasting light in living touch.

that he could be compelled to stay.

but he burns brighter and more furiously than any distant star, and trusts to no light but his own.

there is an absence that cannot be prevented. there is a cause she cannot reach. she has never learned the speech of soaring, and he has never pledged the language of the earth.

so she takes what she is given and responds as best she can.

so she slowly burns beside him, and never dares ask why.

\--------------------------------

There’s a day near the end when he opens his eyes and can’t recognize the woman beside him.

He knows she’s been with him for a long time, longer than he deserves. He knows her warmth, and when she reaches to stroke his hair, he knows the worry etched across her brow. But he can’t remember her name or where she’s from or how he used to make her laugh.

When she asks what’s wrong, he only smiles, brushing her cheek. Play it with confidence. True to the end.

“Nothing, darling. Nothing at all.”

He’ll never admit he’s terrified.


End file.
